# Trump has fired Comey. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225 "2017-05-09T21:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/121 "2017-05-11T02:05:15Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Really? Even if he’s guilty? We have trials to determine if people are guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/122 "2017-05-11T02:09:04Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We have trials to determine if people are guilty. I’m aware. I’m also aware that it is the function of the FBI to provide evidence for those trials. The FBI was working on that – for both candidates. If you think back channels don’t exist for exchanges of information at these levels, I admire your steadfast naivete. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/123 "2017-05-11T02:54:39Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Comey has always been an enigma to me - while I hate what he did during the campaign and think he made wrong choices with devastating consequences, the man himself has seemed more a bit strange/hard to understand, rather than evil in any way. > > Anyhow, his farewell letter (not a resignation letter, under the circumstances) is pretty classy: > > We should all strive to be so gracious. I don’t. He’s telling people to ignore the Nixonian situation going on here. Just because he can be fired for any reason doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking into why. There is clear foul play afoot. Just like, like him or hate him, the fact that Trump has fired a guy investigating him for things he was okay with in the past means we should all be upset, and there is absolutely no reason for it to be political. I do think it’s probably strategic, though. If he says anything like what he should say, it could be used against him. So he’s hoping that people will still read between the lines. Unfortunately, it will be used politically, with Republicans using that as proof that Democrats shouldn’t care. When, again, we should all care. A president with a corrupt past appears to be firing someone in an attempt to prevent prosecution. There’s no need for an innocent Trump to do this until after the investigation. He already missed his chance to do it without seeming unseemly before then. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/124 "2017-05-11T05:05:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I don’t. You don’t … what? Strive to be so gracious? Anyway, Comey’s farewell letter is not going to determine the fallout from Trump’s behavior, a fact Comey well knows. His classy behavior will be a comfort to the FBI employees who genuinely respected him, not a damper on “looking into why” he was fired. In fact, petulance on Comey’s part would merely feed into the narrative that he was unfit for his office. Surely that’s obvious. ---
**Author:** ![opossum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2bfe46/32.png) [@opossum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opossum)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/125 "2017-05-11T05:14:41Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Despite enormous internal pressure by a segment of his own agency and the Republicans, I think the reason Comey felt he couldn’t bring charges to prosecute Clinton over the email rules violation was because of Gen. David Petraeus. Petraeus not only mishandled classified information, but he lied to the FBI and obfuscated the FBI’s investigation. For his actions, Petraeus received only a misdemeanor conviction. With that in mind, Comey felt it was seriously problematic to lodge more punitive charges against Clinton. He mentioned this a time or two publicly. This makes no sense. Petraeus used private email to communicate with his biographer/girlfriend. He passed some classified information to his biographer/girlfriend for either biography reasons or girlfriend reasons or both. He initially lied about it to investigators. There was never any evidence that he used private emails to conduct official business, either as an Army officer or as CIA director. When it came to light that he had an extramarital affair and had mishandled classified information, Petraeus resigned as CIA director. He has not sought public office since his resignation. Still, Comey’s FBI and the DOJ pursued felony charges against him , based in part on evidence found in the communications between him and his biographer/girlfriend, which were not destroyed. At the end of the day, Petraeus owned up and pled guilty to misdemeanors. Clinton used private email to conduct official DoS business, much of which was classified, and much of which is and will remain unavailable to contemporaneous oversight investigations by the FBI and Congress as well as to to future historians because it has been destroyed. Even some of the emails that Hillary and her lawyers and private IT staff allowed to escape destruction showed negligent handling of classified information. Hillary has never sincerely confessed, and she continued to pursue higher political office even after the facts came to light. Comey not only did not pursue any charges against her, he publicly exonerated her in July 2016 (oddly combined with a meaningless public scolding), poisoning the well for future prosecution should further evidence emerge. For further comparison look at how he handled the Martha Stewart case. Like I said in my earlier post, I believe Comey to be an honest and honorable man. One can only imagine the pressure he was under in 2016. I hope he feels free enough from the pressure to tell his side of the story someday. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/126 "2017-05-11T05:19:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I don’t. He’s telling people to ignore the Nixonian situation going on here. Just because he can be fired for any reason doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking into why. There is clear foul play afoot. Comey has been asked to testify to the senate as a private citizen. That’s the appropriate venue for him to state his side of the story and have it dealt with. A letter to his former employees saying good bye (and trying to keep their moral up) is not. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/127 "2017-05-11T05:23:03Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > “Thanks for your help in getting me elected, but you’re fired.” What an ungrateful prick. Just ask all the employees he’s avoided paying and business partners he’s cheated & backstabbed how helping Trump is generally rewarded. Him screwing over his own allies isn’t only unsurprising; it’s to be\* expected.\* It’s what he _does._ > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > when i heard the news last night, i thought, " if i were sean spicer i would call out sick tomorrow.". He’s been [hiding in bushes](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/sean-spicer-hides-bushes-donald-trump-fires-james-comey-white-house-fbi-avoid-press-questions-a7727611.html) instead. > [@](#): > > Sean Spicer hid behind bushes near the White House as reporters clamoured to question him over James Comey’s sacking, it has been reported. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/128 "2017-05-11T13:39:41Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I just noticed this.The plot thickens. [Thicklier and thicklier](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trumps-anger-and-impatience-prompted-him-to-fire-the-fbi-director/2017/05/10/d9642334-359c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html): > [@](#): > > Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey and that the president acted only on his recommendation… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/129 "2017-05-11T13:53:41Z")
Slate has a great story detailing why the [White House story on Comey’s firing is utter horseshit](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/05/the_white_house_story_on_comey_s_firing_is_falling_apart.html). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/130 "2017-05-11T14:00:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey and that the president acted only on his recommendation… Threatened to resign unless, what? That’s what makes it a threat, see, that you’ll resign unless you get something you want; like a statement from Trump that your memo was just a pretext. I suppose the narrative has changed slightly; I think Trump said yesterday that he fired Comey because he wasn’t doing a good job. There’s still the termination letter and attached memos where the President and Attorney General pass the buck to the Deputy AG. If you feel so used and betrayed, Mr. Rosenstein, resign, don’t just threaten to. That’s how integrity dies. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/131 "2017-05-11T14:29:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So pretty much everyone who called for Comey’s firing should have praise for this action, yes? No. As someone on my Facebook feed said, "People with critical thinking skills can understand that we might not like a guy, and still don’t agree with the circumstances in which he was removed. “I don’t like Skip Bayless. That doesn’t mean I would be happy watching him be eaten by wolves on live television.” ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/132 "2017-05-11T14:37:31Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It’s indisputable that Russians interfered in the US election. It’s indisputable that many members of the administration, plus many members of the T\*\*\*p family, have deep financial ties to Russia. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to suspect these two facts may be related. What are these “deep financial ties”? I’ll start out by saying that if the President conspired with a foreign government to hack the opposition party emails in order to help him win an election, I support his impeachment and removal from office, whether he is a Republican or Democrat. Trump has financial ties to Russian and everywhere else in the world because he is a billionaire who has a lot of money to invest in places. You imply that there is some sort of direct payment to Putin so that he in turn would help Trump get elected. Is there any evidence for that, or are we just going fishing? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/133 "2017-05-11T14:41:03Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Trump has financial ties to Russian and everywhere else in the world because he is a billionaire who has a lot of money to invest in places. You imply that there is some sort of direct payment to Putin so that he in turn would help Trump get elected. > > Is there any evidence for that, or are we just going fishing? I think it’s more likely he’ll let Putin have his way with his neighbors than he’s paying Putin. Putin is richer than Trump anyway. And, by the way, there’s nothing wrong with a little fishing. Sometimes you catch something, and at least you had a pleasant day on the water. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/134 "2017-05-11T14:42:40Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > What are these “deep financial ties”? I’ll start out by saying that if the President conspired with a foreign government to hack the opposition party emails in order to help him win an election, I support his impeachment and removal from office, whether he is a Republican or Democrat. > > Trump has financial ties to Russian and everywhere else in the world because he is a billionaire who has a lot of money to invest in places. **You imply that there is some sort of direct payment to Putin so that he in turn would help Trump get elected.** > > Is there any evidence for that, or are we just going fishing? How about having an easily manipulated patsy who will lift sanctions? ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/135 "2017-05-11T15:02:10Z")
Here is an [excellent account](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trumps-anger-and-impatience-prompted-him-to-fire-the-fbi-director/2017/05/10/d9642334-359c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar&tid=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.0233c7a91cf2)of the whole sorry saga from The Washington Post. What a shitshow. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/136 "2017-05-11T15:13:10Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > What are these “deep financial ties”? I’ll start out by saying that if the President conspired with a foreign government to hack the opposition party emails in order to help him win an election, I support his impeachment and removal from office, whether he is a Republican or Democrat. > > Trump has financial ties to Russian and everywhere else in the world because he is a billionaire who has a lot of money to invest in places. You imply that there is some sort of direct payment to Putin so that he in turn would help Trump get elected. > > Is there any evidence for that, or are we just going fishing? Would you believe his [lesser child Eric?](https://thinkprogress.org/eric-trump-reportedly-bragged-about-russian-funding-streams-e6f3e525f10e) > [@](#): > > At a real estate conference in 2008, Donald Trump Jr. said that the Russian money was “pouring in” to the Trump business. > > “And in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets; say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” he said. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/137 "2017-05-11T15:17:36Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > How about having an easily manipulated patsy who will lift sanctions? But during the election season, Trump did not hide the ball about this. He said he favored a more open and friendly relationship with Russia. The people who voted could take that into consideration when they cast their votes. Are we upset just because its Russia, those old cold war commies that we all hated growing up? What if it was Portugal? For whatever reason Obama hated Portugal, but Trump campaigned on being friends with Portugal. Does the fact that some of his billions are invested in Portuguese banks mean that there should be an investigation? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/138 "2017-05-11T16:37:12Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Is there any evidence for that, or are we just going fishing? You say that a lot. When saying it you seem to imply that there’s not a vast ocean that all evidence says likely has a lot of fucking fish in it. Another Facebook post that is on point here: "I don’t know – it’s hard for me to see any U.S. ties to Russia, except for… • the FLYNN thing • the MANAFORT thing • the TILLERSON thing • the SESSIONS thing • the KUSHNER thing • the CARTER PAGE thing • the ROGER STONE thing • the Felix Sater thing • the Boris Ephsteyn thing • the Rosneft thing • the Gazprom thing • the Sergey Gorkov banker thing • the Azerbajain thing • the ‘I LOVE PUTIN’ thing • the Sergey Kislyak thing • the Russian Affiliated Interests thing • the Russian Business Interests thing • the Emoluments Clause thing • the Alex Schnaider thing • the HACK OF THE DNC thing • the Guccifer 2.0 thing • the Mike Pence ‘I don’t know anything’ thing • the Russians mysteriously dying thing • the PRESIDENT’S PUBLIC REQUEST TO RUSSIA TO HACK HILLARY’S EMAIL thing • the president’s house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing • the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during his rally campaign thing • the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing • the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing • the Cyprus bank thing • the PRESIDENT REFUSING TO RELEASE HIS TAX RETURNS AFTER HE SAID HE WOULD IF ELECTED • the Republican Party’s REJECTION OF AN AMENDMENT to require him to show his taxes thing • the ELECTION HACKING thing • the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing • the Steele Dossier thing • the Leninist Bannon thing • the Sally Yates can’t testify thing • the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing • the PRESIDENT’S REASSURANCE THAT THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION IS ALL ‘FAKE NEWS’ thing • the Spicer’s RUSSIAN DRESSING ‘nothing’s wrong’ thing • the Chaffetz not willing to start an investigation thing • the Chaffetz suddenly deciding to go back to private life in the middle of an investigation thing • the The Lead DOJ Investigator Mary McCord SUDDENLY in the middle of the investigation decides to resign thing • the appointment of Pam Bondi who was bribed by the president in the Trump University scandal appointed to head the investigation thing • the The White House going into full-on cover-up mode, refusing to turn over the documents related to the hiring and subsequent firing of Flynn thing • the Chaffetz and White House blaming the poor vetting of Flynn on Obama thing (LOL!) • the Poland and British intelligence gave information regarding the hacking back in 2015 to Paul Ryan and he didn’t do anything thing • the Agent M16 following the money thing • the president’s team KNEW about Flynn’s involvement but hired him anyway thing • the Corey Lewendowski thing • the Preet Bharara firing thing but before he left he transferred evidence against trump to a state level Schneiderman thing • the Betsy Devos’ brother thing • the Sebastian Gorka thing • the Greg Gianforte from Montana thing • the VP Pence actually was warned about Flynn before he was hired thing • the Pence and Manafort connection thing • the 7 Allies coming forward with audio where the president was picked up in incidental wire tapping thing • the Carter Page defying the Senate’s order to hand over his Russian contact list • NOW the president wants to VETO Sally Yates’ testimony thing! Some of these may be redundant. A few might even be questionable or won’t withstand scrutiny. But all of this does show that there’s a damn good reason to look in this body of water for fish. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/139 "2017-05-11T16:42:40Z")
You could walk across it without getting your feet wet for fish. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225/140 "2017-05-11T16:48:14Z")
Yeah and despite all of that, the issue here is not stringing Trump up on the White House lawn, it’s _investigating_ the allegations to determine what actually the case may be. Why are the same people who were quite happy to demand eight Benghazi investigations suddenly not curious about this? Gee, I wonder… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-has-fired-comey/786225.md?page=8)